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What is a word-retrieval problem?
In simple
terms the expressions “word
retrieval problem” or “word finding difficulty” imply that
the person knows and understands the word, and has used it
correctly before. However, they have difficulty retrieving
such known words at times.
Children and adults with language disorders are
frequently found to have word retrieval difficulties. Often
when a person (child or adult) is having difficulty
retrieving a word they will have the sense that it is “on
the tip of their tongue”: a state of affairs familiar to all
of us; at other times they seem simply to “go blank”.
Assessment
Word retrieval
difficulties sometimes occur in isolation, but they are
often accompanied by problems in other areas of language
function...all of which can be addressed once they
are properly identified.
It is common
for children with specific language impairments and
childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) to have word finding
difficulties.
Assessment by
a qualified speech and language professional is strongly
advised. Assessment comprises a full speech and language
test battery administered by a speech-language pathologist /
speech and language therapist.
Among other
components, the ideal battery includes standardised
measures of receptive and expressive vocabulary, as well as
informed observations of conversation skills (discourse) and narrative.
Older test
subjects will often be able to tell the assessor
about aspects of their word retrieval difficulties. Word
retrieval ability cannot be fully assessed in isolation, but
has to be seen in the context of the individual's other
cognitive, social and linguistic skills.
About
the activities
*
These activities are intended for children.
* Not all of the activities will suit all children - so be
selective.
* Put the emphasis on listening, thinking and speaking.
* The activities are aimed at having the child retrieve
known words - not at
extending the vocabulary by teaching new
words.
* If possible, use a minimum of visual cues at first. If the word to be
“retrieved” does not come easily for the child, provide an
auditory cue (e.g., say the first sound or syllable of the
word) or a verbal clue (e.g., "it rhymes with...").
* If auditory cues are not working provide more scaffolding
with written sounds or words, and pictures.
* Give the child time to think, but don’t leave it so long
that they are struggling to find the word. Rather than
letting them persist unsuccessfully, tell them the
answer, and go on with the next few items. Then ask them the
one that was difficult again.
* Aim for a high success-rate to encourage motivation and
confidence.
* Adapt the tasks to suit the (developmental) age of the
person.
Talk
about words and word-meanings
As natural
opportunities arise talk about such topics as “Why is Big
Bird called Big Bird?” Talk about people being named
after other people. Talk about why certain names might have
been chosen for pets and TV characters (Cookie Monster,
Rugrats, Inspector Gadget, Uncle Scrooge, The Fat
Controller, etc). Try to work these conversations in around
topics of genuine interest to the child.
Read,
read, read, and read!
Here are some suggestions:
Just about every book
in the "Beginner Books"/Dr Seuss series, including “I’ll
Teach my Dog 100 Words”
and "Hop on Pop".
Books about rhymes.
Books about opposites.
Books about word classification (i.e., semantic classes):
e.g., vehicles, tools, occupations, etc, involving knowing
the names of objects or entities within a class.
Books about animals and their young, involving knowing the
precise names for animals’ offspring (e.g. horses have
foals, cows have calves, etc), and the correct names for
some common animals according to gender (horse: mare,
stallion. filly, colt).
Books about names.
Books that contain high repetition of the same word.
Books that rhyme e.g. The Diggingest Dog, One Duck
Stuck
Books
that tell a story e.g. The Cat in the Hat, Robert
the Rose Horse
Books that contain silly rhymes*, for example "There's a
Wocket in my Pocket" by Dr Seuss. It includes such silliness
as:
"Did you
ever have the feeling
there's a WASKET
in your BASKET?
...Or a NUREAU
in your BUREAU?
...Or a WOSET in your CLOSET?
Sometimes
I feel quite CERTAIN
there's a JERTAIN
in the CURTAIN..."
*Don't read
this sort of thing if it irritates you or your child. It's
not to everyone's taste!
Play
impromptu word-games
Games
involving transforming one part of speech to another are
particularly helpful, e.g.:
Today I am riding, yesterday I ... (rode)
Today I am driving, yesterday I ... (drove)
Today I am sleeping, yesterday I ... (slept)
Yesterday I rode, tomorrow I will ... (ride)
Incorporate cloze-tasks into story-reading
When you read stories, recite
rhymes or sing songs, include "obvious" sentence completion
routines, e.g. 'Little Jack Horner sat in a ...' (corner);
'Baa baa black sheep, have you any...' (wool).
Read
riddle books and tell jokes
Choose
knock-knock jokes, riddles, etc that rely upon accurate
word-retrieval to make them funny.
Make up silly
words for familiar rhymes,
e.g.: "Baa baa black sheep have you any... spaghetti?"
"Humpty Dumpty had a great... grandmother".
Play
word-classification games
These games
might include ones such as: “See how many boys’ names you
can think of in one minute. Time yourself while you do it”.
Other categories that might be fun or interesting include:
tools
games
drinks
movies
tools
games
drinks
movies
toys
animals
vegetables
makes of car
sports
clothes
flowers
colours
Play
“name the category”
This can be
done like a cloze task, for example, "red, blue, green,
orange and pink are all ..."; "lions, tigers, monkeys and
elephants are all ..."
Play “pick the word that does not belong”
For example,
"Which one is the odd one out: cat dog tree mouse
Play "which two words go together?"
For example: "watch
pig nail clock"
Play
sentence completion (“cloze”) games
For example:
"A house is a place to live. An office is a place to ..." "A
nursery is a place to buy plants. A Post Office is a place
to buy ..."
Play
games involving synonyms
For instance,
“Can you think of another word that means big?" "Can you
tell me another word for smart?"
Play word-association games
For example:
"pilot goes with..."(plane), "cab goes with..."(driver),
"ship goes with..."(sailor)
Devise
simple games involving similarities
For example,
“What is the same about a sheep and a cow?” "A train and a
plane are both..."
Play
games involving antonyms
Do this as a
sentence completion (cloze) activity (e.g., "The opposite of
hot is ...") or use a question-and-answer format (e.g.,
"What is the opposite of hot?"), or as a confrontation
naming task using pictures in which the child has to name
"opposites pictures" as rapidly as they can (e.g., hot cold,
wet dry, big little, fast slow, deep shallow, apart
together).
You can have a lot of fun
doing this at sentence level:
Adult: I live in a little
house.
Child: I live in a big house.
Adult: I love cauliflower.
Child: I hate cauliflower.
Adult: I broke the ladder.
Child: I mended the ladder.
Adult: My car is old.
Child: My car is new.
Play
word games involving differences
For example,
“What is different about a bird and a plane? They can both
fly, but they are different because ...”
Play “What comes next?”
For example:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday ...
Summer Autumn Winter ...1 2 3 ...
First second third ...
Laa-Laa, Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, and...
Twinkle, twinkle little ...
Word
Finding Web Site
The
Word Finding Web Site
provides information about word finding for professionals,
parents, and learners with word finding difficulties. It
includes references, materials, a virtual help section, and
Internet resources. The Word Finding Web Site is the
creation of Dr. Diane German, a professor in the Special
Education Department at National-Louis University, Chicago.
Word Learning Lab
Directed by Dr Karla McGregor, the important mission of the
Word Learning Lab
is to understand how children learn new words, how knowledge
of word meanings deepens over time, and how best to
facilitate rich vocabulary learning among
children who are challenged by language learning
impairments. The Lab is part of the
Iowa Collaboration on Child Language at The
University of Iowa.
Wait,
don't tell me!
A November 2000
study
of the 'tip-of-the-tongue' experience reveals implications
for cognitive aging and language production. |